Marvell has introduced a deep dimming LED driver integrated circuit (IC) that provides high light quality and superior dimmer compatibility and dimming performance, when compared toincandescent bulbs. The Marvell 88EM8183, a single-stage AC/DC LED driver IC, has been tested by Lutron, a lighting control company, for compatibility with various dimmers.
Marvell 88EM8183 Driver IC
The 88EM8183 LED driver IC will help increase the wide adoption of LED retrofit bulbs. The IC has superior dimming control algorithms that adhere to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association Solid State Lighting 6 dimming standard. The mixed-signal architecture and dimming technology help achieve deep dimming of just 1% of LED current, which is a significant decrease in light levels. The IC reduces the number of components required for LED drivers, leading to lesser board space, which enables bringing of LED lighting to different types of form factors, including PAR, GU10, A19, BR and Candle.
Marvell has designed the 88EM8183 IC to be compatible with over 100 types of TRIAC wall box dimmers from different manufacturers. The IC supports a broad range of output wattages from as low as a couple of watts to as high as 100 W. It also functions on universal AC input.
The Marvell 88EM8183 IC avoids the need of an external field-effect transistor and related power circuits due to the integration of a high voltage start-up circuit designed for supplying power during the power up process. The company’s primary side current control method avoids the necessity of an opto-coupler during delivery of regulation accuracy over a wide range of AC input. The IC avoids the need of external dimmer bleeder circuits as it monitors the dimmer status and manages the load on the dimmer for maintaining correct operations. The chip helps OEMs and ODMs to surpass ENERGY STAR requirements due to its efficiency of 90%, power factor of over 0.95 and total harmonics distortion of lesser than 20%.
During collaborative testing with Lutron, dimming compatibility was checked with C•L series dimmers, RadioRa 2, Grafik Eye QS, and other products.